


I'll Take What I Can Get

by KonekoNoRenkinjutsushi



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: (eventually) - Freeform, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everything is fine until it's not, F/M, Mental Health Issues, Positive Relationships, Sunburn, The one where Hero gets a girlfriend, and everyone is not okay for a bit, aubrey and hero's potty mouths, everyone gets their chance for growth, hero deserves to be happy, hero's problems, hero-centric, i force an oc into hero's life so that he can deal with his emotions, like she'll show up twice probably, oc is kinda just there for most of it, post true ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29692956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KonekoNoRenkinjutsushi/pseuds/KonekoNoRenkinjutsushi
Summary: Angel skidded to a halt before them. “GUESS WHAT! Kel’s brother is by the lake with his girlfriend or whatever! Let’s go prank ‘em!”Aubrey froze in surprise. Hero… had a girlfriend?Before she even had a chance to think of a response, Kel exclaimed, “WOAH! Hero got a girlfriend?! That’s… cool!”She turned to him. Was he really okay with this?(AKA The One Where Hero Gets a Girlfriend, And Everyone is Not Okay for a Bit.)
Relationships: Aubrey/Sunny (OMORI), Hero/OC (OMORI)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 74





	1. I'll Never Be Sixteen Again

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to the Omori discord for giving me inspo to start on this fic. No one else was brave enough to tackle it, so here I am.
> 
> Title is from When by dodie.

Hero nervously checked his watch. He was still five minutes early, but he had no idea when the person he was waiting for was going to come. He tapped his heel up and down in slight impatience, or rather, anxiety. He didn’t know this person. What would she think of him? Was he really the type of person anyone would want to date? He clearly wasn’t fit to be anyone’s partner, not after what happened with—  
  
No.  
  
That wasn’t his fault. There were no signs to see, and he was a great person, if what everyone around him says is true. He doesn’t need to worry about it.  
  
That’s what he keeps telling himself.  
  
But what if he really is a horrible person? He couldn’t keep their friends together, couldn’t see how everyone else was hurting, he was too absorbed in his own self-hate—  
  
“Are you.. Hero?”  
  
He looked up from where his gaze had rested on the ground to see a rather petite brunette, with shoulder-length hair that curled near the ends. She was cute, he guessed. She had a kind of charm that he would normally feel towards small animals or children. But her hair was shorter than he was used to, and she looked rather nervous rather than carrying a large grin filled with love. Too short, too messy, too shy...  
  
She—  
  
She wasn’t… Mari.  
  
He realized with a start that he hadn’t responded yet, and covered up the awkward pause with a laugh and a grin, hoping he hadn’t been staring for too long.  
  
“Y-Yeah, that’s… me. Robin, right? Sorry. Do you… wanna get going? There’s a nice place further back. I brought lunch!” He holds up a picnic basket reminiscent of Mari’s, as if in offering.  
  
The park was luckily rather empty today, and he couldn’t see any of his childhood friends or his brother around. Thank god. He doesn’t think he can deal with them now. Not on top of this.  
  
Robin gives a shy smile, covering her mouth with one of the sleeves of her sweater and grasping the strap of her purse with the other. Does she think that’s cute? Wearing a sweater that’s too big for her? He can’t imagine that it's fashionable. Or maybe it is? He certainly isn’t caught up on fashion trends with his own boring blue sweater and gray jeans. He doesn’t have any right to judge. Maybe because she’s so small, she can only find oversized things when she’s shopping for clothes. No, Hero, that’s stupid. There are always smaller sizes out there, larger are the ones hard to find.  
  
Before he even noticed, they were in the back of the park by the lake. He gestures for her to sit at the picnic blanket that’s already laid out, settling himself down.  
  
She smiles a bit more genuinely, and it’s cute, Hero thinks. Not in the same way, but he’ll take it for now.  
  
“I’ve never been back here before. It’s beautiful.”  
  
Hero can feel himself relaxing a bit. “Yeah, I used to come here all the time when I was a kid.”  
  
“By yourself?” She blinks, curious.  
  
He hurries to correct her, “No, with my friends. We all, uh, used to have picnics together.” He’s already panicking again. Oh no, he doesn’t want to talk about them now. He doesn’t want to dive into his trauma on his first meeting with this poor girl.  
  
“Oh, that sounds fun!” She comments, before looking closer at how he has tensed back up and is starting to sweat slightly. “...You don’t have to talk about it, but I’d love to hear more sometime. Let’s talk about something else, what are you studying at college?”  
  
He glances at her doubtfully, but she only smiles back reassuringly.  
  
“...I’m studying to become a doctor.”  
  
Her eyebrows raise in surprise, “Wow, cool. That’s definitely a lot of hard work! I’m an artist myself, definitely not anything quite so amazing.”  
  
Hero finds himself chuckling a bit at the self-deprecating joke, “I get told that a lot. I don’t think I’m all that amazing either, but I guess if people keep telling me that then I should try to believe it, right? I’m sure your art is amazing.”  
  
Unexpectedly, he opens his eyes to Robin frowning. He’s suddenly very nervous. Did he say something wrong? God, he’s already fucked this up. He was right all along, there’s no way he could have a proper relationship—  
  
“That’s not right! You shouldn’t believe something just because other people told you so. You have to find your own self-worth!” She scoots a bit closer, adamantly holding her clenched hands forward and shaking them up and down excitedly, pouting, “Like, like! For example, what’s something you really like doing, even if no one else complimented you on it?”  
  
He’s a bit taken aback by her energy, but takes a moment to think. What does he like to do? Even if it didn’t make others happy, even if it was the only thing he had left…  
  
“...Cooking. I like… cooking.” He glanced back up at her nervously, as if there was a wrong answer. Somehow he felt he needed to justify himself to her, since she was getting so angry on his behalf.  
  
She smiled, however. “See? And you think cooking is fun, right? Even when you have to work hard at it. You don’t have to be amazing at everything, as long as you have something you enjoy doing.”  
  
He finds himself smiling. “Yeah. Even though cooking is best enjoyed when you get to see everyone’s reactions. Speaking of which, do you want to try some of what I brought? I… made it myself.”  
  
She gives him a giga-watt smile, and her eyes almost seem to sparkle. “Food? You sure know how to win a girl’s heart!”  
  
His smile weakens, her reaction reminding him of Mari. She would always get excited about his cooking as well, flirting with him as he brought it out. But the comparison… doesn’t hurt quite as much. Robin is nice. She understands. She doesn’t seem like she would judge him too much, even if he spilled his whole life story right now.  
  
And that… makes him happy. Or at least… content.  
  
And if he asks her for some of her own hobbies as he spreads out the parts of their meal, well…  
  
Right now, they could just be content together.  
  
\---  
  
From behind the trees near the entrance to the clearing, a pompadoured head pokes around to spy on the two, who seem to be enjoying themselves.  
  
“Hey, that’s that nerd Kel’s brother, right? What’s he doing out here?” Angel complains quietly, turning to Charlie who looms behind him, “Do we gotta cancel our meetup today?”  
  
Charlene sighs silently, nodding. “I don’t… think we should disturb them. They look… happy.”  
  
Angel pouts up at her, before grinning and trying to make a break towards the two of them. Charlene grabs the back of his tank top, dragging him away with her to find the rest of their friends. Angel flops around uselessly in her grip, trying to get away.  
  
“Hey! I was just gonna— ask them some questions!”  
  
\---  
  
Kel was bothering her again, trying to convince her to go hang out at the treehouse with her new group of friends. She was listening half-heartedly, not really wanting to consider the idea. That was their old place, her new group of friends didn’t belong there. But… did she really want to place that kind of restriction on them? These were her friends. The treehouse was a place where she and her friends hung out, even if it was their old group.  
  
“...We’d be trespassing to get there. Sunny’s already moved out.” Aubrey contributed half-heartedly, knowing full well it was a shit excuse.  
  
“We don’t have to go through his backyard! We can take a different route!” Kel posited enthusiastically. “You know it’s not technically part of his house, right?” He added, trying to egg her on. She grunted, eyebrows furrowing.  
  
“....Fine.” Aubrey closed her eyes in preparation for his response.  
  
“YEAH!” Kel shouted, and she still winced at how loud he was. Could he be any more annoying? “Does that mean we can go today? I wanna go today!”  
  
“Aubrey!” She turned to the voice barreling down the pavement towards the fountain they were near. “Aubrey Aubrey Aubrey!!!”  
  
Angel skidded to a halt before them. She could see Charlene slowly making her way towards them in the distance. “GUESS WHAT! Kel’s brother is by the lake with his girlfriend or whatever! Let’s go prank ‘em!”  
  
Aubrey froze in surprise. Hero… had a girlfriend?  
  
Before she even had a chance to think of a response, Kel exclaimed, “WOAH! Hero got a girlfriend?! That’s… cool!”  
  
She turned to him. He didn’t have any major signs of being distressed, except maybe a bit of sweat. Was he really okay with this? What about… Mari? Was Hero really over her completely? She felt a bit betrayed by how easily Kel seemed to just... accept this. Like he seemed to when Sunny told them the truth. No, she can’t use Kel as a bar of how to react to anything.  
  
She felt… confused. Why would Hero suddenly go out and find someone, now of all times? They’re still adjusting to the truth, and to Sunny moving away right after. Why would he keep this a secret?  
  
She felt… betrayed. Did Hero’s love for Mari only take him this far? Of course, she’s gone… but, she thought he had really loved her. Like, a lifetime commitment, or something.  
  
She felt… relieved. Relieved that Hero was trying. He deserved to be happy.  
  
She didn’t quite know what to do with these feelings yet. Closing her eyes, she refused Angel’s offer of pranking them, much to the boy’s disappointment. Hopefully she would get a chance to confront Hero about this later. At least he’s getting a chance to try having a relationship, unlike her lost opportunity. Not that she’d ever admit that out loud.  
  
She tells them to tell everyone their meetup spot has changed. She’ll deal with this later.  
  
\---  
  
Hero’s heart was pounding. He’d taken a leap of faith in asking one of his college friends if they knew someone who lived in Faraway who would be willing to blind date, and it had turned out well. Too well, actually. Suspiciously well. He had gotten Robin’s number and confirmed plans to meet up again while they were still in Faraway during break.  
  
He had been telling himself he needed to move on.  
  
He had been trying to convince himself that he couldn’t grieve for Mari forever, that even if it was an accident, there wasn’t any bringing her back. He had to be happy, for her sake.  
  
He’d been forcing himself to try harder. To be healthier. To… he doesn’t know. Be like he used to be? Before everything?  
  
Even just in their first meeting, Robin felt like a positive difference. He wasn’t sure how he really felt about her yet, but he thought he could make it work. She was enough like Mari— no. He needed to stop comparing them. It wasn’t fair to Mari, and it definitely wasn’t fair to Robin.  
  
Robin had said he should base his self-worth off of his own words, not off of others. That was real. That felt like something he could work towards. He liked that.  
  
When he got home that afternoon, Kel was still out. He greeted his parents, offered to start working on dinner after he did some homework, and went upstairs to focus.  
  
Except he couldn’t focus. He was ecstatic. He couldn’t stop smiling. Was this how he used to feel? When he was with Mari? He couldn’t remember. Somehow, it didn’t matter.  
  
His thoughts kept going in circles, and he spun in his desk chair. He was going to meet her again, and it was going to be great. He just knew that somehow, if he kept putting in more effort, everything would work out. It wasn’t like before. Robin didn’t have any mysterious younger siblings waiting in the wings to murder her and frame it as a suicide—  
  
The doorknob suddenly twisted, and he couldn’t halt his momentum before Kel came bursting in, a grin on his face. He made another full turn before finally stopping to greet him, but Kel cut him off with, “Wow, I guess you really did get a girlfriend! Nice going, Hero!”  
  
His heart sunk in his chest. He knew? How did he already know?  
  
He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Haha, y-yeah. Um, who else knows?”  
  
If Kel’s grin grew any larger, Hero would think he was straining himself. “Oh, nobody. Just Aubrey, Angel, Charlene, Kim, Vance, M—”  
  
“So all of Aubrey’s gang, then,” Hero sighed, dejected. Why did he ever think he could keep this a secret?  
  
“And Basil! He’s chill with it, too. Dude seemed pretty happy for you! I am, too, if I’m being honest!” Kel seemed like he wanted to give him a hug, but stopped himself to give Hero space. He appreciated it. He was too nervous to receive a hug right now. He now knew Kel and Basil were okay with it, but he was most worried about Aubrey, and Sunny if he ended up finding out.  
  
“Did… Aubrey say anything?” Hero asked, almost too scared to find out the answer.  
  
“Uh… I don’t… think so. I can ask her?” Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Alright, Aubrey is definitely not okay with this. Why would she be? She cared about Mari the most after Sunny and him, and she definitely idolized her more than anyone. Of course she wouldn’t be okay with him trampling all over her memory by finding someone else.  
  
“No, uh, you don’t have to say anything to her. That’s fine. I’ll just, um, talk to her myself.” Hero definitely didn’t want to talk to her himself. He was absolutely dreading doing just that. But he didn’t want to avoid talking to her altogether, that wasn’t fair to such a close friend.  
  
“Okay, cool! You should probably do that soon, then. She was acting kind of weird the whole time we were hanging out, so.” Fuck. Hero should stop cursing in his head, he might let one slip around Sally. But what else perfectly embodies his emotions at this very moment?  
  
“...Alright. Thanks.”  
  
“No problem, bro! You can always count on me!” Kel flexed towards him as if to raise his spirits. He’s not really sure if it helped, but he appreciates the attempt. “I’ll let you finish your work, see ya!” Just as abruptly as he entered, Kel runs downstairs, leaving the door open behind him. Hero sighs, before realizing the time had already gotten so late that he should be heading down to work on dinner. So much for getting his homework done, he guesses.  
  
\---  
  
Kel was… nervous. He hoped Hero hadn’t noticed how absolutely fake his smile was during some parts of his speech. He didn’t doubt that Basil’s response when he had told him was genuine, the kid would have been sweating buckets otherwise. But Kel had (self-proclaimed) mastery over the art of pretending that everything was okay, even when he had doubts about some things.  
  
Kel was, admittedly, not the smartest, he knew. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t see the implications of Hero getting a girlfriend. He was happy for Hero, really. But mostly, he was worried about how fragile their friend group already was. He had spent so long trying to get everyone back together, and he had finally succeeded somewhat, so all he needs is for Hero to cause it to come crumbling down. Why now? Why couldn’t he have waited for a better time?  
  
He didn’t want them to fall apart again. And he especially didn’t want Hero to be the reason.  
  
He didn’t know what to do.


	2. And I'm Waiting to Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kel and Aubrey plan an ambush. Hero is not amused.
> 
> Sunny is just vibing.

Kel glanced over to Hero’s side of the room again, making sure Hero was fully asleep and facing away from him before he pulled his phone out under his covers. He texted Aubrey an update on what he knew, wanting to keep her in the loop.

[12:32 AM] **Kel:** hey, hero’s asleep now. he hasn’t contacted you yet?

He waited impatiently for her response, trying not to squirm in his sheets too much and wake Hero.

[12:34 AM]  **Aubrey:** No.

[12:34 AM]  **Kel:** huh. weird. he said he was gonna

[12:35 AM]  **Aubrey:** Well, he hasn’t. Just shut up about it, I’ll talk to him tomorrow.

[12:36 AM]  **Kel:** fine, i guess i’ll shut up

[12:36 AM]  **Kel:** can you take me with u tho?

[12:38 AM]  **Aubrey:** What part of shutting up don’t you understand

[12:40 AM]  **Aubrey:** Fine, whatever. Why?

[12:41 AM]  **Kel:** is that a fine to taking me with you or a fine you wanna know why

[12:42 AM] **Aubrey:** Bitch answer the question

[12:44 AM]  **Kel:** um, i wanna ask him soem questions too

[12:44 AM]  **Kel:** *some

[12:46 AM]  **Aubrey:** And you can’t ask him on your own?

Kel didn’t want to respond. Because he’s too scared to face Hero? Because he doesn’t want it to go like last time he tried to help? Because Hero thinks he’s completely okay with everything and he’s not? It felt like putting his insecurities about everything into text form would make them real, even though he was already planning to talk about them with Hero. But he didn’t want to confess that to Aubrey, of all people.

[12:52 AM]  **Aubrey:** Fine, I get it. You’re too much of a baby to talk to your own damn brother.

[12:52 AM]  **Kel:** hey!!!

[12:54 AM]  **Aubrey:** S’fine. You can come, I guess. Just don’t fuck this up for me.

[12:55 AM]  **Kel:** ok, cool

[12:55 AM]  **Kel:** gn

Aubrey didn’t respond to his last text, so he figured she went to sleep. He wanted to do so as well, but now he was too full of nervous energy. 

What was he supposed to do? Nothing? His one good ability was fucking things up. He was only good at poking his nose in where it doesn’t belong and getting yelled at.

He knew something was going to go wrong. He just hoped it didn’t go wrong too badly.

\---

When Hero woke up, Kel was still asleep.

Good.

He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, except Robin.

Quietly making his way down the stairs, he started on the simple meal he was planning to share with her later today. She had liked it last time. He’ll bring something similar this time, and ask about her favorite foods for the next.

He wanted to make her happy. She was the one thing in his life right now that didn’t give him anxiety to think about.

When he met up with her later, they were going to head to the station and hang out at the small cafe there. Then, they were going to take a train into town and explore together, before sharing the lunch he made together. He had no idea how it was going to go, but it definitely sounded exciting. Definitely better than dealing with his friend who was almost certainly looking down on him for trying to be happy.

He didn’t want to deal with Aubrey. He loved her, but he didn’t want to hear anything that would confirm how much she hated him for this. He didn’t want to stop loving her because of something so trivial.

...But it isn’t trivial, is it? This was important to him.

He hadn’t realized how much it hurt him that Aubrey might not accept him finding someone until this moment. He supported her so much, so why couldn’t she support him when it matters?

...He didn’t want to think about this. He wanted to forget everything for a day, and go have fun.

Can he please just have that?

\---

When Kel woke up, Hero wasn’t there anymore. He panicked for a moment, kicking his bedsheets to the floor and checking the time on his phone.

Someone was knocking on his door.

Probably Aubrey, if the text notifications on his phone were anything to go by. He threw on his shoes and ran to the door, slamming it open with the force he would use to dunk.

“HeyAubIdon’tknowwhereHerowenthewasgonewhenIwokeup—”

Aubrey kicks him in the shin, and he shuts up in fear of the bat on her shoulder.

She squints at him. “Are you… wearing the same clothes as yesterday?”

“Heh… yeah…” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He didn’t want Aubrey to yell at him any more than needed.

“...Go get changed. Idiot.” She raised her foot as if in warning, and he pouted. He was already here! Why waste more time?

But even  _ more  _ time would be wasted if he didn’t just go change, so he did. He hoped Aubrey wouldn’t notice he didn’t change his socks, because he was getting impatient about leaving.

He raced back out his front door, where Aubrey was still waiting for him.

“Well? You said something about Hero?” She tapped her sneaker up and down idly.

“Uhh, yeah, he was gone when I woke up. I haven’t looked to see if he left a note yet.” Once he had a moment to think, he realized he was panicking for no reason. Hero always woke up before him, and he usually left some kind of note if he left without telling anyone.

“Well? Are you going to check?” She seemed so done with his shit already. Honestly, he’s only been awake for less than five minutes and he’s pretty done with himself, so he understands.

They walk into his house together, making a beeline for the kitchen. There they find, as expected, a note left on the fridge, mentioning how he was going out today and won’t be back until the afternoon. He also mentions the food he had prepped, but Kel was a bit preoccupied by the fact that he didn’t… say… where he was going.

“Uuuuugh, our plan is ruined… Hero’s gonna be gone all day and we have no idea where he went!” Kel has a mini meltdown on the floor. He can see Aubrey looking down at him in disgust.

“Get off of the floor, you’re dirty enough as it is.” He is hurt. If he continues to play dead, maybe Aubrey will take pity on him. She kicks him instead.

Aubrey sighs at his melodrama, before sharing her infinite wisdom. “It’s not that big a deal. We just have to wait until he comes home and talk to him then. Where do you wanna go to wait?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……”

“....Figures. Alright, let’s go walk around or whatever. Maybe we’ll get some ideas.”

\---

As Hero made his way back home, he didn’t think he could be any happier. His day so far had been great, there hadn’t been any complications in meeting up with Robin or during their date, and she seemed to like the lunch he made. Upon questioning her about her favorite foods, he found out she liked butter chicken and beef stew. Butter chicken was a little bit different than what he normally made, but he could go pick up the ingredients and spices he needed. Beef stew took a bit longer if you wanted to make it correctly, but he could make a bunch and share it with his family—

Right. Kel. And Aubrey.

He just knew, somehow, that he was going to get ambushed by Aubrey at some point. She was persistent if nothing else, and if she wanted answers then she was going to get them.

The problem was that he himself didn’t really know the answer.

What he did know is that he was happy at this moment, and he didn’t want them to ruin this for him.

He was surprised when he made it home safely, no surprise attacks involved. He made his way into his house, relieved that he had made it into his safe zone, where the most annoying things were Sally crying and Kel leaving his socks around—

He sees Aubrey sitting on his bed. He was stopped from immediately turning around and leaving his bedroom by Kel, who drags him through the door and closes it. Et tu, Kel?

“Haha, hey, guys. What’s all this about?” He tries to deflect, hoping that they would take it easy on him. Take what easy on him? He has nothing to be ashamed of.

What happened to one full day where he can forget everything?

“You know what I’m here about. Why have you been avoiding me?” Aubrey is definitely not enjoying his bullshit right now. Okay, cool. He wishes she would, though.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve just been busy.” He’s trying to play this off like it doesn’t matter, but it does. It does to him, and it does to Aubrey if her being here is any indication.

“Yeah, busy with… your girlfriend.” She sounded reluctant, like it was hard to say. He’s immediately unhappy with the implications.

He steels himself. “And what of it?”

He can tell Aubrey’s getting frustrated too, if her clenching fists are any indication. He doesn’t want to hear what she has to say. She doesn’t understand how important this is to him.

He hasn’t told her how important this is to him.

“Did you really think now is the best time?” She manages to growl out, her face starting to flush in anger, or maybe embarrassment. He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t care.

“And when would the best time be? When I’ve graduated? After you guys get a chance to think about it? Since when was there a good time?” Hero is trying to hold back his anger, but this conversation has already started to go where he thought it might. He’s not going to just take this lying down.

Aubrey also looks like she isn’t finished. “Look, I get it. We’re all dealing with this at our own pace. But what about… M—”

“You’re  _ really  _ going to bring Mari up right now?” He knows it’s relevant. He still doesn’t want to hear it.

“Of course I am! When  _ else _ am I going to bring her up!?” Aubrey’s started to raise her voice, and he tenses in preparation to retort when he feels a hand brush his shoulder. He swings around at the contact, trying to calm himself when he sees how Kel has immediately backed up in fear.

“...What?” He figures if he was trying to get his attention, he should at least listen to what Kel has to say. Kel had already voiced his approval, so there wasn’t anything to fear in listening to him—

“I… kind of agree, bro. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

...And the anger is back. Has… Kel been lying to him? What else has he been lying about?

“So I have to let you know everything I do now? I can’t have just  _ one _ thing for myself?” Hero can feel his fury bubbling inside him. He needs to get out of this conversation. He doesn’t want to be here.

Kel actually seems annoyed at him for once. “Not if it’s something that affects all of us! Dude, come  _ on _ ! You  _ know _ how keeping secrets between us went before!”

He wants to leave. “You just don’t want to see me be happy! It’s not enough that the rest of you are miserable, you have to drag me down with you too!” He doesn’t know what he’s saying anymore, but he can see their expressions changing to hurt and something in him curls in satisfaction. “Why can’t I have something that’s just for me? I’ve spent my whole life picking up after you guys… well, that’s over.”

Hero pushes Kel out of his way, glaring darkly back at the two of them. “Get the  _ fuck _ out of my life.”

\---

Sunny is excited. Honestly more nervous than excited, but in a good way. He’s been trying to keep up with his friends since he moved, but it’s much harder when you don’t meet in person, and Sunny has enough trouble trying to vocalize his thoughts in person that his mental interpreter for thought to text is almost nonexistent. He hopes no one is too worried about him, but knows that they probably are anyways.

But, the most exciting thing he’s done recently is happening right now. His mother hadn’t changed their general practitioner yet, so he has a doctor’s appointment in Faraway. Which means, he’s back in Faraway. It hasn’t really been that long since he’s been gone, but the neighborhood feels nostalgic already, and the events of those three days felt like so long ago. 

He hasn’t told anyone yet, hoping to surprise them. He’s planning on dropping by Kel’s house first, so he can see if Hero wants to join them.

As he’s walking down the street from the park where his mother dropped him off, Sunny contemplates how surprised his friends might be, and what he wants to say first. Maybe he won’t say anything, and they can play 20 questions while he gestures. That might be fun. Maybe they won’t be surprised at all, since it hasn’t been that long since he left. That would be disappointing, but he wouldn’t be surprised.

He hasn’t had any real conversations with them since their last ones in the hospital. He hopes they haven’t gotten any more mad at him.

As Sunny approaches the door to Kel’s house, he hears muffled yelling from inside. He stops, not wanting to get any closer if there’s an argument happening.

Suddenly the door slams open, and Hero storms out, a furious look on his face. Sunny jumps a bit at Hero’s expression, but opens his mouth to try to speak.

Hero only pauses for a moment when Sunny blocks his path.

“I definitely don’t want to see  _ you _ right now. Get out of my fucking way.” He shoulders his way past Sunny, who clams up immediately.

What?

What was that?

He didn’t understand why Hero was so angry. Did he do something? Well, other than accidentally murdering the love of his life—

Sunny didn’t know what the argument was about, but he knew he was at fault somehow. Why else would Hero practically spit at him upon seeing him? He had to make this right, he had to— he doesn’t know. He had to do something.

He turned to start following Hero, who had already made it a pretty good distance down the road from their house, before he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Turning his head, he sees that it’s Kel, with Aubrey behind him. Kel squeezes his shoulder a bit before letting go, and Aubrey finally switches her attention from where Hero disappeared to Sunny, looking over him in concern.

He can feel himself heating in embarrassment at the attention of both of them. He’s still not quite used to being the center of their focus.

As they explain how Hero has found a girlfriend, Sunny finds himself smiling. Hero deserves this. He doesn’t need to lock himself away the way Sunny did. Sunny… doesn’t deserve happiness the same way Hero does.

He’s a bit… jealous, honestly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just bullshitting places for them to go to irl at this point. Cafe idea stolen from [Phurtershep’s coffee shop au.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29701215)


End file.
